Falling for Funkineven

We chat with London house hero Funkineven, aka Steven Julien, before he plays Le Bain alongside Duane Harriott and Son of Sound on Friday, November 17th.

LE BAIN: Funkineven or Steven Julien? We were not sure how to bill you on the flyer. Does it really matter?FUNKINEVEN: Doesn’t really matter DJ-wise, but from my album Fallen onwards, I'm only releasing under my birth name, so no more music under the name Funkineven anymore…

"It's all about the music and that's the way it should be..."

Your album Fallen got raving reviews. RA compared your music to Kenny Dixon Jr and Larry Heard. In what ways that affiliation with Detroit feels right to you?Hmm. To be honest, Detroit is a tiny part of my influences, as I'm influenced by so many genres and cities around the world. People can compare me to what they want, but in my upbringing, I’ve been exposed to mostly black music from reggae, hip-hop, soul, rare groove, and jazz fusion, to name a few. I must say hip-hop from New York is a massive part of my life.Tell us about the Co-Op nights at [London nightclub] Plastic People.That was my church from a teenager growing up to find proper music to inspire me, Co Op especially, never heard anything like that at the time –a fusion of something deep for sure but up tempo so it was very hard to stand still. Feels good to be from West London where that music was birthed - a massive part of my sound that I can’t escape, big all the Co-Op crew!

About your own label Apron, you once said, “Apron is one of those things where the aesthetics, the sonics, the sound, the movement all speak for itself. Everything comes together right, in my opinion.” What’s your next big step with Apron in the couple of years to come?It's selfish time for Apron. 2018 is all about me me me! I don’t wanna give away too much, but I got a couple of projects from myself plus an album from someone I can’t mention yet, but it's crazy! A fusion, prog-rock and P-funk album, too. Yeah, we try let the music and vision speak for itself, as I believe it does. It's all about the music and that's the way it should be.

Your best album to listen to while you drive during these recent nights?Hmm. Well, listen to anything from DJ Harrison. He always goes down well on a driving trip. He’s got crazy skills–but let me check what I'm listening to right now... Dan Mastroianni's Tears And Whispers. Wow, that album is crazyyyy. Mad expensive to get an original copy, too.